When it comes to using sports at work, most people think about sports metaphors and comparisons to teamwork. While those things do come up fairly often there’s more value in sports conversations that in simply finding an appropriate cliché. Actually conversing with colleagues builds relationships and rapport.

When you have sports as a starting point it’s easier to break the ice and learn enough about your colleague to have follow up conversations. The best business is done with people who know, like and trust each other. How are you going to get to that point without having a few conversations?

With that in mind, here are a few names making news in the sports world this week. Use them to join conversations or make small talk at work.

Names in the news:

Tiger Woods

Phil Mickelson

Justin Rose

Danny Green

Alex Cobb

Alex Ovechkin

Why they’re in the news:

Tiger Woods entered the weekend as the favorite to win the U.S. Open. He was anything but good, however, and shot the worst U.S. Open score of his career. Justin Rose won the tournament and his first major title while Phil Mickelson finished second for the 6th time in his career at the U.S. Open.

San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green set the NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers made in the series on Sunday. He scored 24 points Sunday night, helping the Spurs take a 3-2 series lead against the Miami Heat. One more win for the Spurs and they’re NBA Champions.

In baseball, Tampa starting pitcher Alex Cobb was released from the hospital Sunday. He was hit in the head with a line drive Saturday. It was a gruesome scene as he was taken off the field on a stretcher but the diagnosed was a mild concussion.

In the NHL, Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitols captain, was named the Hart Trophy winner. The award is given to the league’s most valuable player. While it’s an impressive accomplishment for him, hockey fans are more intrigued with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks Finals matchup. The series is even at one win apiece. The first two games have both gone to overtime.

Jen Mueller, America’s Expert Talker, is the author of Game Time: Learn to Talk Sports in 5 Minutes a Day for Business. After 13 years in sports broadcasting, Jen wrote the go-to resource for novice and first-time sports fans in the business world. Her step-by-step process makes sports accessible and practical for relationship building in business. The book is available through Amazon.